LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Elizabeth Obama is Better than Scott Romney

The third debate between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown revealed again the root cause of the partisan polarization in our nation’s capital: it stems from the two different views of how the economy works, and the tax and deficit policies that stem from it. 

On one side, there are trickle down supply siders such as George W. Bush, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, and Scott Brown.  They believe in a scheme that goes like this:  if you cut taxes on the rich, they will spend more on yachts and the like, which will trickle down to the rest of us, and in the process, somehow magically, create jobs and shrink the deficit.

On the other side are Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren (and yours truly). We believe in reality based economics, based on history, and fact.  President Obama and Elizabeth Warren want to have an investment-based economy with public-private partnerships and a tax code very similar to the one that was in place when Bill Clinton was president.  During Clinton’s eight years, 22.7 million jobs were created and we went from budget deficits to budget surpluses. 

Scott Brown has repeatedly stated that he trusts Mitt Romney to be the best person to manage our economy.  And what is Romney’s strategy?  What’s his plan?  It’s the trickle down, supply side scheme.  This strategy has failed in practice.  When implemented with tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 by President George W. Bush, it led to paltry job growth (only 1.1 million jobs) and massive deficits. 

Then why would a person as educated as Romney disregard this history and these facts and espouse a failed plan?  Most of us here in Massachusetts know the answer:  supply side economics allows Romney to offer the American people their cake and the hope to eat it too:  cut taxes, solve the deficit problem! Magic!  It’s a classic example of Romney saying almost anything in order to get elected.  The people of Massachusetts know better, and that’s why a vast majority of us don’t place much trust in Romney.  But Scott Brown does.  He’s voted against job growth proposals, he believes in supply side economics, and seemingly wants to follow this failed route again.  And like Romney, Brown has been saying almost anything to get elected this year.  Why would we trust Brown on the most important issue of our future?   

Whom we entrust with our future should be based, in part, on who has a reality-based view of how the economy works and a fact-based plan for strengthening it in the future.  On this meter, Elizabeth Obama wins big over Scott Romney.  Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama deserve our support on Nov. 6. 

State Rep. Tom Conroy